LoI Club Hinterlands

If some LoI clubs have huge catchment areas simply within their own county (Cork, Galway, Finn Harps), others have more opportunities due to the absence of senior teams in neighbouring areas. Some cases are straightforward:

Waterford (South Tipp, Kilkenny)
Treaty (Clare)
Dundalk (Monaghan)
Drogheda (Meath)

But others are less so - would Roscommon be more Longford or Athlone? Laois doesn't appear to be notably close to any club, and both Sligo and Harps are fairly near Leitrim. Likewise, Kildare would appear to be up for grabs for any Dublin team.

I've said it before but depending what part of Meath you're in your closest club could be Drogheda, Dundalk, Longford, Athlone, Pats, Bohs or Shels.
Anything but straightforward.

Living in the middle of Wicklow for the last 3 years and I have never heard anyone mention the LOI. Had not even thought about it till now. Bray about a 30-40 minute drive from me. Strangely, the local football team get good crowds. Seen a couple of games myself. They made a final recently and the buzz around the village was like it was a team in a Gah county final.

My club has a few of Co Roscommon players playing for them over the years. We have had players from Strokestown,Ballyleague ,Rooskey. They would all be on the east side of Co Roscommon bordering the river Shannon.

Lots of Rovers fans from Leitrim and North Roscommon

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Originally Posted by culloty82

... both Sligo and Harps are fairly near Leitrim.

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Originally Posted by Nah Nah Nah Nah

Lots of Rovers fans from Leitrim and North Roscommon

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Yet the whole population of Leitrim is only 35k.

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Originally Posted by culloty82

If some LoI clubs have huge catchment areas simply within their own county (Cork, Galway, Finn Harps), others have more opportunities due to the absence of senior teams in neighbouring areas. Some cases are straightforward:

Waterford (South Tipp, Kilkenny)
Treaty (Clare)
Dundalk (Monaghan)
Drogheda (Meath)

But others are less so - would Roscommon be more Longford or Athlone? Laois doesn't appear to be notably close to any club, and both Sligo and Harps are fairly near Leitrim. Likewise, Kildare would appear to be up for grabs for any Dublin team.

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Good question, in Louth almost all of the county north of the toll plaza supports Dundalk, including small towns of Ardee, Dunleer, Castlebellingham and north towards Carlingford. Further north Dundalk also has support from South Armagh.

Drogs would be traditionally looking south and west.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Yet the whole population of Leitrim is only 35k.

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Our average attendance is about 2.5k so not really sure what your point is

What would be the catchment areas for each of the dublin clubs?

Are there any parts of Dublin that would be unrepresented and therefore present an opportunity for one of the existing clubs to exploit or dare I say the possibility of another dublin club joining the league?

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Originally Posted by culloty82

If some LoI clubs have huge catchment areas simply within their own county (Cork, Galway, Finn Harps), others have more opportunities due to the absence of senior teams in neighbouring areas. Some cases are straightforward:

Waterford (South Tipp, Kilkenny)
Treaty (Clare)
Dundalk (Monaghan)
Drogheda (Meath)

But others are less so - would Roscommon be more Longford or Athlone? Laois doesn't appear to be notably close to any club, and both Sligo and Harps are fairly near Leitrim. Likewise, Kildare would appear to be up for grabs for any Dublin team.

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Waterford (South Tipp, Kilkenny)
Treaty (Clare, North Tipperary)
Dundalk (Monaghan)
Drogheda (Meath)
Sligo (Leitrim, North Roscommon)
Athlone (South Roscommon, North Offaly)
Longford (Mid Roscommon)

Kerry, Carlow-Kilkenny, Mayo, Cavan-Monaghan, Kildare, Laois-Offaly and Meath are the standout areas for a wider geographical spread. Laois-Offaly and Meath are the only two of these areas not to have joined the youth leagues.
There is a place in Dublin for youth representative teams at the very least with the support of Fingal council and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown council.

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Originally Posted by Nah Nah Nah Nah

Our average attendance is about 2.5k so not really sure what your point is

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My point, not a pop, was that even though SRFC draw support from their Leitrim hinterland, it still cannot amount to many extra fans.

Thats all, really.

I lived in Ballinrobe for a year close to a decade ago and there were some there who spun up to Sligo regularly. Again, not in huge numbers, but it is the sort of thing that this thread is built for. 🙂

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Originally Posted by oriel

Good question, in Louth almost all of the county north of the toll plaza supports Dundalk, including small towns of Ardee, Dunleer, Castlebellingham and north towards Carlingford. Further north Dundalk also has support from South Armagh.

Drogs would be traditionally looking south and west.

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Also in South Down(Newry,Warrenpoint and Bambridge) and Monaghan(Carrick,C'Blayney)
In Ardee,Dundalk have a really,really good following.
Dunleer is 50/50 Dundalk/Drogs according to a good Drogs friend of mine :D (it annoys him that it not all Drogs)

Harps draw decent support in areas of Tyrone & Fermanagh
Derry would have a lot of support up in Inishowen

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

My point, not a pop, was that even though SRFC draw support from their Leitrim hinterland, it still cannot amount to many extra fans.

Thats all, really.

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Well it does but sure you’d know better obviously

My educated guess on this would be as follows :

- Sligo Rovers ( North Mayo, North Roscommon, Leitrim).
- Finn Harps (West Tyrone)
- Derry City (Inishowen, north-west Tyrone, and a bit of north Derry e.g. Limavady).
- Drogheda United (Meath)
- Dundalk (Monaghan, South Down).

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Originally Posted by ToberonaTornado

Also in South Down(Newry,Warrenpoint and Bambridge) and Monaghan(Carrick,C'Blayney)
In Ardee,Dundalk have a really,really good following.
Dunleer is 50/50 Dundalk/Drogs according to a good Drogs friend of mine :D (it annoys him that it not all Drogs)

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I would say Dunleer has far more Dundalk fans than Drogheda- it would also nearly be easier to get to Oriel Park than United Park from the village, even if its physically further away. Droghedas fan base doesnt extend too far north of the Town. Clogherhead would be the last village that is more Drogheda than Dundalk, but even still its probably around 50/50 (ableit thats a GAA village). Annagasan and Togher would be fairly staunchly Dundalk.

The traditonal rural soccer clubs north of Drogheda, Albion Rovers (Monsterboice/ Collon) and Walshestown (outside Clogherhead) would both be split between Dundalk and Drogheda. I know the last couple of chairmens of Walshestown have cycled through season ticket holders of either Dundalk and Drogheda!

It was only in the mid-00s, Drogheda first made inroads into the area, but Dundalk still had a strongish base, especially with more traditonal soccer families. I know for my fathers generation it was also common enough to go to both Dundalk and Drogheda, but not sure that happens too much anymore.

So, to summerise, in my anecdotal opinion, Dundalk represents most of Louth soccer fans outside of the town of Drogheda and a couple of villages north of it. Droghedas base outside of the town is definitely south of the Boyne, especially east Meath (which is a fairly densely populated area).

......
I love questions like this, and would love data to see. German and Dutch clubs publish some great maps of club memberships, and you can really see where support begins and stops. https://www.tubantia.nl/integratie/voetbalkaart

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

My point, not a pop, was that even though SRFC draw support from their Leitrim hinterland, it still cannot amount to many extra fans.

Thats all, really.

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Leitrim has a population of 35,000 - which makes it bigger than places like Coleraine, Ballymena, Larne, Newry etc. Yet those places seem able to turn out football supporters, so I fear your point was a bit misguided really (beyond telling us all the obvious news that Leitrim isn't the biggest county on the island). If only 10% of the population of Leitrim went to a Sligo game (they don't), it would still more than double the gate - so it's hardly a village we're talking about here.

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Originally Posted by oriel

Good question, in Louth almost all of the county north of the toll plaza supports Dundalk, including small towns of Ardee, Dunleer, Castlebellingham and north towards Carlingford. Further north Dundalk also has support from South Armagh.

Drogs would be traditionally looking south and west.

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I lived in dunleer (blow in) for a while a found it more of a neutral territory with a guesstimate 50:50 split (maybe slightly more Dundalk 60:40) between the clubs with south of dunleer being Drogs and north Dundalk.

Of course this is pure subjective lol

The traditional support bases in the likes of Dunleer and Ardee, even Louth Village have been blurred over the years with the movement of people out of urban areas on the northern commuter belt. You would meet fans of Dublin clubs living in Dundalk now also. Dunleer was almost totally Dundalk if not GAA pre 2000-05, i think simply as most seemed to head to school in Dundalk. Glen Dimplex was a big employer that drew people from Dundalk and would sway the natives. The split could well be heading in the direction of 50-50 but i'd i says its not yet much past a 3:1 ratio in Dundalks favour, not that there has been much effort by either club to keep or gain hold of catchments in mid-Louth. Success in more recent times for Dundalk also tips the scales. The sooner Drogheda United moves in to County Meath the better for us all:p

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Originally Posted by Neish

Harps draw decent support in areas of Tyrone & Fermanagh
Derry would have a lot of support up in Inishowen

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Originally Posted by EatYerGreens

My educated guess on this would be as follows :

- Sligo Rovers ( North Mayo, North Roscommon, Leitrim).
- Finn Harps (West Tyrone)
- Derry City (Inishowen, north-west Tyrone, and a bit of north Derry e.g. Limavady).
- Drogheda United (Meath)
- Dundalk (Monaghan, South Down).

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Inishowen would be fairly split in half between Derry and Harps to be fair.

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Originally Posted by EatYerGreens

Leitrim has a population of 35,000 - which makes it bigger than places like Coleraine, Ballymena, Larne, Newry etc. Yet those places seem able to turn out football supporters, so I fear your point was a bit misguided really (beyond telling us all the obvious news that Leitrim isn't the biggest county on the island). If only 10% of the population of Leitrim went to a Sligo game (they don't), it would still more than double the gate - so it's hardly a village we're talking about here.

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Ballymena, Coleraine and Larne are three very protestant towns and therefore draw their fans from the protestant community. These clubs would only have a tiny amount of Catholics if any. For years Larne couldn't get protestants to go to games until Kenny Bruce took over and completely rebuilt the stadium and the team went professional. Ballymena have a great stadium owned by the council and with David Jeffery at the helm they come in expectation. Coleraine are relatively successful. Top three or four in the league and Cup finals or semi finals. Lets see how Newry do this year before commenting on their support. They are new to the league this year and people are coming out of curiosity and most likely to see the big name teams Linfield, Crues, Glen's and Chickenville. If they are in the bottom two they'll go back to two men and a dog.

County Meath is the 4th biggest area of Bohs members behind Dublin 7, 15 & 11.

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Originally Posted by NavanBohs

County Meath is the 4th biggest area of Bohs members behind Dublin 7, 15 & 11.

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Dublin 15 is a bizarre one, clearly located closer to D7 & Bohs than Rovers in Tallaght, yet has one of the highest areas of Rovers members & Season ticket holders outside of Tallaght. Huge amount of Hoops from that part of Dublin.

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

Ballymena, Coleraine and Larne are three very protestant towns and therefore draw their fans from the protestant community. These clubs would only have a tiny amount of Catholics if any.

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On what basis are you making this claim? I know nationalists who watch Coleraine.

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

For years Larne couldn't get protestants to go to games until Kenny Bruce took over and completely rebuilt the stadium and the team went professional.

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This is an even ballsier claim ! On what basis are you saying protestats wouldn't go to watch Larne ? It's two-thirds protestant as a town. What has their religion got to do with it ?

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

Lets see how Newry do this year before commenting on their support. They are new to the league this year and people are coming out of curiosity and most likely to see the big name teams Linfield, Crues, Glen's and Chickenville. If they are in the bottom two they'll go back to two men and a dog.

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I watched Newry a few times when they were in the second tier over the last few years - both home and away - and they had a lot more than two men and a dog. Have you actually bene to watch them, as it sounds like everything you've said in the above post is based on unfounded personal opinion/prejudice rather than actual fact ?

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Originally Posted by Peaky Blinder

Dublin 15 is a bizarre one, clearly located closer to D7 & Bohs than Rovers in Tallaght, yet has one of the highest areas of Rovers members & Season ticket holders outside of Tallaght. Huge amount of Hoops from that part of Dublin.

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I used to live in D15 for years and it's very handy to get to numerous grounds. Spin around the M50 to Tallaght. In the Navan road to Dalymount, or through the park and you're almost at Richmond.
I'd also say that D15 is largely a soccer stronghold. I know Castleknock has rugby but most of D15 (blanch, clonsilla, corduff, huntstown, coolmine, hartstown, ongar, mulhuddart, tyrellsrown)
would be much more into soccer than any other sport. It's a massive Dublin suburb and surprisingly wasn't all that well served by gaa clubs either - I believe Castleknock gaa club was only set up relatively recently.

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Originally Posted by Philosophizer

I used to live in D15 for years and it's very handy to get to numerous grounds. Spin around the M50 to Tallaght. In the Navan road to Dalymount, or through the park and you're almost at Richmond.

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Bohs would be closest but it's not that much longer to Tallaght, Richmond or Tolka.

Was just doing some googling of D15 and saw a Fingal Co co page stating they expect the population of D15 to hit 140K by 2029. I knew it had a big population, but my god!
We obviously have enough clubs in Dublin as it is, but if there was ever an area where a new club could take off you'd imagine it would be Blanchardstown. A reboot of Sporting Fingal perhaps? 😁 I know they had plans to move to Swords but I reckon Blanch would have been a better bet.

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Originally Posted by Philosophizer

We obviously have enough clubs in Dublin as it is, but if there was ever an area where a new club could take off you'd imagine it would be Blanchardstown. A reboot of Sporting Fingal perhaps? ��

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Accept the emoji, but hasn't the whole lesson of LOI expansion/contraction been that you can't succeed by just parachuting a brand new club into an area, solely because it has a large population but no other LOI club nearby?

Surely clubs have to grow organically from the grassroots up?

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Originally Posted by Philosophizer

Was just doing some googling of D15 and saw a Fingal Co co page stating they expect the population of D15 to hit 140K by 2029. I knew it had a big population, but my god!
We obviously have enough clubs in Dublin as it is, but if there was ever an area where a new club could take off you'd imagine it would be Blanchardstown. A reboot of Sporting Fingal perhaps? 😁 I know they had plans to move to Swords but I reckon Blanch would have been a better bet.

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Worked out there for years, with many people who were from or lived in the area. First thing I noticed was now many people supported the LOI. The 2nd thing was that it was spread around the 3 main Dublin clubs, and Shels. I would have expected it to be mainly Bohs.

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Originally Posted by ger121

I would have expected it to be mainly Bohs.

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Maybe Bohs are missing a trick by not winning more fans from that area.
I know rovers have a link with Corduff and one of the young lads getting game time recently is from Corduff.

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Originally Posted by ger121

The 2nd thing was that it was spread around the 3 main Dublin clubs, and Shels..

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I have to admit, you made me chuckle there Get. Nice one. 👍

We have had some fans from South Tipp and East Kerry over the years, and we have had a few players come through from both areas. We currently have three Tipp players, two of whom (Cian Murphy and Cian Bargary) came through the academy, following in the footsteps of Stephen Napier and Ollie Cahill who both came back from the UK I believe in the 90s and Shane Long who also came through the academy.

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Originally Posted by EatYerGreens

On what basis are you making this claim? I know nationalists who watch Coleraine.



This is an even ballsier claim ! On what basis are you saying protestats wouldn't go to watch Larne ? It's two-thirds protestant as a town. What has their religion got to do with it ?



I watched Newry a few times when they were in the second tier over the last few years - both home and away - and they had a lot more than two men and a dog. Have you actually bene to watch them, as it sounds like everything you've said in the above post is based on unfounded personal opinion/prejudice rather than actual fact ?

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I'll reply to each of your points.
1. I worked in Coleraine for several years and the people I knew said they would travel to Derry City before going to Coleraine. I'm not saying nationalists dont go, in saying if they do go they are very few.
2. Before Kenny Bruce took over Inver Park was a total sh1t hole and the team were a mess. Larne were 3 days from quiting as a club when KB walked in and saved them. Larne were lucky to get 100-150 people. Religion had nothing to do with it, any sane person wouldn't went to it. Now that facilities have improved the people are coming back. The 2 new stands behind the goals are fantastic and will bring even more.
3. Regarding Newry, I will admit that my contact was between 2013 and 2017 when they were in the mid ulster league and their attendances were approx 40 - 60 people. Yes they have improved a been promoted and credit to them. Their stadium holds in the region of 2,000 - 3,000 but, can you honestly tell me they fill this every week or even half fill it. I think not!!. Regarding prejudice I can assure you this is not the case. I lived in NI for 25 years and played and coached football. I have been to and played on these grounds and everything I say is based on what I've saw, heard first hand or participated in.

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Originally Posted by placid casual

I have to admit, you made me chuckle there Get. Nice one. 👍

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I aim to please😉

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

I'll reply to each of your points.
1. I worked in Coleraine for several years and the people I knew said they would travel to Derry City before going to Coleraine. I'm not saying nationalists dont go, in saying if they do go they are very few.
2. Before Kenny Bruce took over Inver Park was a total sh1t hole and the team were a mess. Larne were 3 days from quiting as a club when KB walked in and saved them. Larne were lucky to get 100-150 people. Religion had nothing to do with it, any sane person wouldn't went to it. Now that facilities have improved the people are coming back. The 2 new stands behind the goals are fantastic and will bring even more.
3. Regarding Newry, I will admit that my contact was between 2013 and 2017 when they were in the mid ulster league and their attendances were approx 40 - 60 people. Yes they have improved a been promoted and credit to them. Their stadium holds in the region of 2,000 - 3,000 but, can you honestly tell me they fill this every week or even half fill it. I think not!!. Regarding prejudice I can assure you this is not the case. I lived in NI for 25 years and played and coached football. I have been to and played on these grounds and everything I say is based on what I've saw, heard first hand or participated in.

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I don't think there anything wrong with what you're saying. But, in fairness to EYG, the choice of words may have been misinterpreted.

1) The three areas mentioned are majority unionist, and draw fans mainly from that community.
2) For years Larne couldn't get people to go and watch.
3) Don't see issue with what you originally said here, suppose depends on your definition of two men and a dog. What exactly is the appetite for senior football in Newry? No point comparing it with next door at Parc Esler. What kind of crowds are they getting down the road at Warrenpoint?

None of these things should be controversial.

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Originally Posted by EalingGreen

Accept the emoji, but hasn't the whole lesson of LOI expansion/contraction been that you can't succeed by just parachuting a brand new club into an area, solely because it has a large population but no other LOI club nearby?

Surely clubs have to grow organically from the grassroots up?

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Might be the exception rather than the rule - but Wexford FC cant be ignored. Parachuted in a brand new club into Wexford into a new area where no LOI had been before and they're doing okay. Average between 350-550 the last 10 seasons and are standing on their own two feet now.

Clubs don't have to grow organically, although its probably favoured.

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

I'll reply to each of your points.
1. I worked in Coleraine for several years and the people I knew said they would travel to Derry City before going to Coleraine. I'm not saying nationalists dont go, in saying if they do go they are very few.
2. Before Kenny Bruce took over Inver Park was a total sh1t hole and the team were a mess. Larne were 3 days from quiting as a club when KB walked in and saved them. Larne were lucky to get 100-150 people. Religion had nothing to do with it, any sane person wouldn't went to it. Now that facilities have improved the people are coming back. The 2 new stands behind the goals are fantastic and will bring even more.
3. Regarding Newry, I will admit that my contact was between 2013 and 2017 when they were in the mid ulster league and their attendances were approx 40 - 60 people. Yes they have improved a been promoted and credit to them. Their stadium holds in the region of 2,000 - 3,000 but, can you honestly tell me they fill this every week or even half fill it. I think not!!. Regarding prejudice I can assure you this is not the case. I lived in NI for 25 years and played and coached football. I have been to and played on these grounds and everything I say is based on what I've saw, heard first hand or participated in.

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This is literally what you said =

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

For years Larne couldn't get protestants to go to games until Kenny Bruce took over and completely rebuilt the stadium and the team went professional.

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You made Larne's lack of support a religious issue, when it clearly wasn't. Very clumsy wording here and on the other points, when you'd epxect someone who'd lived in NI for so long to be more aware of how they say things.

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Originally Posted by Buller

Clubs don't have to grow organically, although its probably favoured.

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Sure look at Glasgow Rangers. Formed in 2012, climbed through the ranks of Scottish football and have now reached the Champions League group stages - all in only 10yrs of existence. An inspiration to football clubs everywhere.

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Originally Posted by EatYerGreens

This is literally what you said =

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Originally Posted by Shinkicker

Ballymena, Coleraine and Larne are three very protestant towns and therefore draw their fans from the protestant community. These clubs would only have a tiny amount of Catholics if any. For years Larne couldn't get protestants to go to games until Kenny Bruce took over and completely rebuilt the stadium and the team went professional.

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You made Larne's lack of support a religious issue, when it clearly wasn't. Very clumsy wording here and on the other points, when you'd epxect someone who'd lived in NI for so long to be more aware of how they say things.

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I took 'Shinkicker' to mean that: "For years Larne couldn't even get Protestants to go to games, never mind Catholics, until Kenny Bruce took over..."

And as such, I thought his comments entirely unexceptional.

Meanwhile, to get back to Hinterlands etc, Larne's may actually be somewhat limited by being so close to Carrick R and Ballymena U, and not so far from Belfast.

Which itself shows that with decent investment in both players and facilities (esp), you can still grow support from your home patch, assuming that your patch has a solid base (what I always call a "proper footballing town")